3. Add tomatoes and bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Stir sauce into pasta and mix well.

5. In a casserole dish, create a think layer of pasta on the bottom of the dish. Next, sprinkle a layer of cheese. Then the rest of the pasta. Then the rest of the cheese. Top off with a little Italian Seasoning for good measure.

6. Bake until cheese is golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

7. Scoop and enjoy!

Thoughts:

Perfect for some ol’ fashioned warm up food. This one is quick during the week if you get out of work on time! Also, Jacob suggests that if you add salt and pepper while you’re simmering the sauce, it will bring out the flavor. Add some Parmesan at the end for a little extra flavor!

A holiday tradition is to have Chinese food and go to the movies on Christmas Day. This year, I was inspired to take a crack at one of the most popular dishes, General Tso’s Chicken. Since I’ve been doing the gluten free thing, I took to my trusty cookbook (Artisanal Gluten Free Cookbook by Peter and Kelli Bronski) to find an alternative to the (usually flour fried) delicious dish. This is my attempt at their masterpiece.

7. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with the water and stir into the sauce and pour into the skillet. Bring to a boil.

8. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook until the sauce thickens and the chicken is heated through. Toss in the snap peas and coat in the sauce.

9. Garnish with scallions. Serve and enjoy!

Results

This was a really interesting twist on a classic recipe. It had a good balance of sweet and spicy that made for a wonderful Chinese food inspired home cooked meal. It has a crisp in each bite without feeling heavy and too fried. I included the snap peas because I always like to serve a vegetable in any meal like this and they add a little crunch. Serve over rice for the full restaurant experience.

So, for Secret Santa this year, my great friend Katie selected my name and chose the most perfect book to gift me. It is the Artisanal Gluten Free Cookbook by Peter and Kelli Bronski. I’ve had a joyous time flipping through its pages and having my mouth water at all the beautiful pictures and ideas for recipes. I started with an easy one to get the hang of things, but I am sure I will have plenty more from this book in the weeks to come.

Preparation:

2. Whisk together the maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and salt and pepper in a small bowl.

3. Place the salmon in a shallow dish and pour the maple glaze over the salmon. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes.

4. Bake the salmon at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until it flakes easily.

5. Serve with some rice and some veggies, and enjoy!

Results:

This was an excellent recipe! The sweet and salty tastes blend together perfectly. I would suggest marinating the salmon to ensure the tastes get infused. It’s a great, healthy meal with the sauce giving it a little extra flavor.

This recipe is one of my favorites when I don’t know what else to make. There are a bunch of ingredients, but a little goes a long way, so even though you’re buying a lot of new things up front, they will last you a long while.

This one is a quick meal, but also super customizable. In the recipe below, I used red and green peppers, but you can really throw in any fresh vegetables you have laying around (I sometimes use a cucumber or some green onions, but anything with a crunch will succeed here). The original recipe is for shrimp, but I opt for some precooked chicken strips. You could also forgo the meat all together and make this a vegetarian option. Totally up to you!

Preparation:

1. Boil a pot of water and add noodles. Boil until noodles are ready, about 10 minutes. Drain noodles.

2. To prepare sauce, combine the first 5 ingredients; stir until smooth (There will be chunks due to the peanuts, but the rest of the mix should be combined well)

2. To prepare the chicken, sauté in nonstick skillet coat ed with cooking spray over medium-high heat for 3 minutes on each side or until crispy on the edges.

3. Slice peppers into strips. Set aside.

4. Combine chicken, noodles, and peppers in pasta pot. Stir together.

5. Add peanut sauce and stir.

6. Serve and enjoy!

Results:

The sauce is sweet and yummy and this one throws together in about 10-15 minutes. It’s great when you don’t know what to prepare or you need to whip a lot of food up quickly. This one is consistently in my meal rotation, especially on busy weeks.

I had these meatballs at my friend Emily’s engagement party and I found myself so in love with them, I hovered over the serving dish and kept eating more when no one was looking. I knew that I had to keep this recipe and use it to wow my own party guests someday. The opportunity came at my annual holiday shindig last night, where (once again) these meatballs got the party started!

Preparation:

2. Mix in ground beef to bowl and knead all ingredients together until well mixed. Get your hands messy on this one!

3. Shape into 1-in. balls. Place in greased baking dishes.

–At this point, I put them in the refrigerator over night. I had the luxury of preparing them the day before. If you don’t have the time, you can continue on directly. However, the fridge step allows for the meatballs to solidify and stay together a bit more than just cooking them directly.–

4. Combine the sauce ingredients; pour over meatballs. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 1 hour or until meat is no longer pink. Serve and enjoy!

Results:

A big hit! The sauce caramelizes while baking, which allows for a great sweet taste. There are more than enough servings to go around and also provide leftovers. Yum!

As life gets busier, the crock pot becomes more and more essential to my well-being. This one is quick, easy, and totally delicious. It’s the combo of sweet and tangy that is the best about barbeque chicken and this recipe captures that balance perfectly.

Ingredients:

Preparation:

1. Mix barbeque sauce, soda, and brown sugar together in a bowl. Consistency should be like a watered down version of the BBQ sauce itself.

2. Insert chicken breasts into crock pot and pour mixture over.

3. Cook on low heat for 8 hours.

4. Serve up and enjoy!

Results:

Yum! Perfect balance of sweet and tangy without being overwhelming. Try not to shred the chicken on this one, though it’s basically impossible because it basically just falls apart.

I almost always use frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot. This one is no exception. I find that they are less likely to burn/overcook than non-frozen. Frozen also store longer and allow you to throw together this meal at any time.

7. The brisket will shrink (totally normal!). Baste with pan juices and slice to serve.

Results:

*As a general rule, consider cooking 3/4 of an hour per pound. In this case, I had a 2.5 lb brisket, so I did 2 hours. If you use a smaller piece of meat, you can cook it for less time (and vice versa). However, definitely be sure to do the 30 minutes uncovered, regardless of the rest of your cook time.

This is another Sunday one, because it’s easy but it takes a few hours to cook. It’s definitely a quality comfort food and leftovers are even better the next day. Serve with mashed potatoes and a veggie (in this case, I used asparagus). It will warm you up and make you smile 🙂